The Samsung UpStage generated a buzz in the world of mobile phones as well as MP3 players thanks in large to it's dual side feature. First side features all the buttons you expect from a mobile phone such as the dial pad and the talk/end buttons. However, you flip the phone over and all of a sudden it's a multimedia player. You're confronted with a large screen as well as the play, forward, and rewind buttons to confirm this.
The slimness of the design clearly shows Samsung's preference for going thin. Standing at 1.73 x 4.07 x .37 inches, this Samsung device is similar in dimensions to the popular iPod Nano. The UpStage weighs in at only 2.57 ounces making it a cell phone you can place anywhere; it evens fits nicely in your back pocket.
The phone side of the UpStage proves to be basic in terms of features and functionality. The dial pad is found on the lower portion and the navigation pad found onthe top. Navigation remains as your typical Samsung pad; square toggle with a button found in the center. Samsung even managed to fit buttons for a camera, back, and two other soft keys along with the necessary Talk and End keys on that top portion. As already stated, the phone functions of the UpStage is basic at best; contacts, text messages, missed alerts and call history. Notice that a tools or settings menu was not mentioned. The display screen of the phone side is also very small. The text may prove too small for some.
Flip over to the multimedia side of the UpStage and we're invited by it's large 2.1 inch screen supporting 262K colors; bright and colorful. The size and color support is great for taking videos and photos with the UpStage. The missing options on the phone side are found here including tools, settings, shortcuts, as well as favorites. An efficiently sized touch pad below the display screen is used for navigation. The sensitivity of the touch pad is adjustable and the soft key in the center activates the touch pad. Users are given the option to use a sliding motion or simply tapping the corresponding sides of the pad to navigate through. Entering the music mode, the touch pad doubles as the music controls; play, fast-forward, and rewind. The navigation method may be confusing at first but, with some practice and patience, navigation will become second nature.
One major flaw in the design of the UpStage is the lack of speakers; there is only one. The single speaker is found on the phone side. This means that if you are using the multimedia player, the only audio output is found on the other side. Also, the sound from the speaker will be weakened if you decide to rest the handset on a table while listening to music.
Another flaw is the lack of battery juice. It's also not user-replaceable meaning you will not be able to replace your battery if it ever goes bad. Also, with such a thin design, the battery itself is thin and does not have much of a life. In an attempt to counteract this, Samsung has included an extended battery with the phone. The extended battery tends to look more like a leather wallet; protecting it from scratches and scrapes. To enjoy the extra 4 hours of talk time, you just have to snap the phone in. The issue now is that the bulkiness of the battery takes away from the slim design.
Overall, the design of the UpStage is unique and, despite the few flaws, quite effective as a phone and MP3 player. It's also impressive to think that they managed to fit all of that hardware and functionalityinto such a small device.
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